Interview with Brian Jarrard, Community Director at Bungieby Matt Walker

Septemeber 10, 2010 - Halo: Reach has been on everyone's minds since it was first announced. We recently had time to get a few questions answered about Halo: Reach that are running rampant in the minds of Halo fans everywhere.

Read on to find out what Halo: Reach's developers had to say before you experience the last Halo game from Bungie.

CCC: The end of Halo 3 was ambiguous. Was there a conscious effort to not tell another story picking up after Halo 3?

BJ:
Not entirely. Before we settled on doing a prequel for our final Halo game, we did spend some time internally discussing various stories involving the continuation of Chief’s saga. It was one direction we could’ve gone but ultimately the team got a lot more excited about branching out and introducing a whole squad of Spartans and bringing the whole saga full circle back to the key turning point and catalyst where Chief’s journey began. We still love Chief though, and we left him in a position where any number of cool new stories could unfold. We’ll be waiting with everyone else to see if he makes a return someday.

CCC: You’ve already had one “prequel” without Master Chief in Halo: ODST. Was it always your intention to tell more stories in the Halo universe without Master Chief?

BJ:
We don’t have anything against Chief. He’ll always have a special place in our hearts, but the opportunity to break away from the lone-gun walking-tank formula and finally give fans a chance to see multiple Spartans in action was too good to pass up. Noble Six does sort of fill the role of Chief in terms of gameplay but it’s a whole different experience having a rich cast of characters alongside you in battle and helping to propel the game’s narrative.

CCC: Speaking of prequels – how long have you wanted to tell the story of Reach in video game format?

BJ:
We’ve always been drawn to that time period and these events in the Halo Universe. It’s the origin story really, the point where everything changed and the turn of events that catapults Master Chief on his journey to ultimately save all of mankind. Right after Halo 3 was completed, Marcus and a very small team sat down to start hashing out the framework for what would become Halo: Reach.

CCC: Do you think “knowing the ending” will affect the impact of the story of Reach, or do you think the connection people will develop is more enduring?

BJ:
It’s hard to not impact the story when you already know the final outcome, but I think people will be surprised how much it will still draw them in and how well this story is conveyed and shared through the Spartans of Noble Team and the planet itself. We still manage to throw plenty of twists and great moments in the mix so you might know the destination but we’re going to make sure that getting there is all the fun.